Fence-post



FENCE POST. t

Patented Sept. 14.1897.

Q. 0. GRANT.

ww, L.,

(No Model.)

Nirnn STATES ATENT Fries,

QUINTIES C. GRANT, OF GREENTONVN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF rlHREE- FOURTHSTO ULYSSES G. MILLS AND GEORGE YV. DUKE, OF KOKOMO, AND JULIUSROSENHEINER, OF CENTER, INDIANA.

FENCE-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,100, dated`September 14, 1897.

Application filed MajY 14, 1897.

To LZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, Qumrins C. GRANT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Greentown, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana,have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Fence-Posts5 and Ido declarethe following to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the iigures of reference marked thereon,which form. a part of this specification.

My invention` relates to improvements in fence-posts, and isparticularly applicable to Concrete or artificial-stone posts of thatclass having longitudinal brace rods or Wires embedded therein and ameans for attaching boards, wires, or a combination of boards and wiresthereto.

Theobjects ofl my invention are, lirst, to provide a fence-post of thatclass that will be stron g and durable; second, that will be cheap ofmanufacture; third, that has a means for securing fence-boards theretoand staying or clamping them throughout their width against the posts;fourth, a means for securing a top rail upon the posts; fifth, a meansfor protecting the joints of the top rails from the Weather and clampingthem firmly upon the posts; sixth, a means for Stringing wires in a wirefence g seventh, a means for securing the board holding or clampingdevices while the post is being formed, and,` eighth, to provide a postthat will still be serviceable should the concretebecoine cracked orbroken.

lith these objects in View my invention consists in the particularconstruction and combination of parts shown in the accompanyingdrawings, described inthe following specification, and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a post with boards appliedthereto and having the longitudinal braces and center rod indicated bythe. dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a per.-

a is a vertical sectional view Serial No. 636,476. No model.)

through the center of the post, showing the central rod andboardsecurers embedded therein. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional viewshowing the brace-rods and central rod in sec tion and one of the.board-securers upon the central rod having a modiiied form of eyeboltfor securing the boards, and Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of theboard-securers.

The posts 1 are formed in suitable molds from a mixture of sand, gravelor broken stone, and cement, combinedin suitable quantities to obtainthe desired results. Embedded in the posts and extendinglongitudinallythroughout their entire length are the brace rods or wires 2, preferablyfour in number, placed equidistant from each other. tral rod 3, threadedat its upper end to receive a nut 41; and provided at its lower end withan elbow 5, which prevents it from turning or slipping, is embedded inthe center of the post 1 andis adapted to pass through the eyes 13 ofthe boardsecurers 6 or eyebolts 7, as the case may be, and serves thedouble purpose of strengthening the post, anchoring saidboard-se`curers, and securing the top rail 8 upon the post. Lateralopenings 9 are formed in the posts, through which the wires 10 arepassed. i

Clamping-plaies 1l, having depending side flanges 12, may be used tohold the boards `firmly upon the tops of the posts and prevent theirwarping and eventually splitting, as would be the case were the rod 3merely passed through the boards and secured by the nuts 4:. The plateis secured by the nut and has the additional advantage of protecting thejoints where two boards are joined from the weather, and the manner oflap-jointing the top boards S is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1and is plainly shown in Fig. 3. The board-securers 6 have the eyes 13,through which the rod 3 passes, the straight portion 14 and the angularforks 15 having the upturned ends 16. The boards 17 rest upon the armsof said forks l5 and are held against the post by the upturned ends 16.Said boards are prevented from slipping laterally by means of staples18, driven therein over said ends 16, and are prevented from beinglifted upwardly by reason ofthe staples coming in A cen i ICO Contactwith the knobs 19 upon. the ends 16. The advantages of this' method ofsecuring the boards over the eyebolt (shown in Fig. 4) is that noopening is required in the board, the entire board is supported, theends cannot twist or curl, and the board is much less liable to split.XVhere the boards join, the ends may be simply butted together, with theend of each board resting upon one of the forks without overlapping,thereby making a neater job and requiring no lap-joint. The boards maybe quickly and easily removed by withdrawing the staples 1Ssui'liciently to allow them to pass the knobs 19.

The advantages of a concrete or artificialstone post are well known onaccount of their lasting qualities and comparative cheapness. Theprincipal disadvantages of said posts of ordinary construction are theirliability to break or crack under sudden strain if not speciallyprovided against by longitudinal brace-rods and the difficulty ofproperly fastenin g boards or rails thereto in a satisfactory manner.These objections are met in my improvements, it being possible to buildboard, wire, or combination board and wire fence upon said posts. Thedistance between the securers 6 may be regulated to suit by raising orlowering them upon the rod 3 before filling the mold with thecomposition of which the post is formed, and the openings 9 may also beformed any desired distance apart.

My improved post can be manufactured in any part of the country at smallexpense and will be practicallyindestructible. It is especiallydesirable for railroad-fences, where the grass fires started by passinglocomotives are constantly burning off and destroying the ordinarywooden posts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a fence-post of the class described, having a concrete body andlongitudinal brace-rods embedded therein, the combination of the centralrod 3, embedded in the center of said post and having the elbow 5 uponits lower extremity and the threaded upper end projecting above saidpost with the nut 4, and the board-securers 6, having the eyes 13 andthe straight portions 14, embedded within the post with said eyes 13surrounding the rod 3, the integral forks 15, having the projectingupturned ends 16, extending out-- '9 formed therein to receivehorizontal Wires 10, of the center rod 3, provided with the elbow 5 atits lower end to prevent its turning or lifting within the post andhaving its upper end threaded and projecting above the 'top of the post,with the clamping-plates 11,

having the depending side flanges 12; the top rails 8, lap-jointed attheir ends, and the nut 4, all as shown and described.

3. The combination in a concrete fence-post having the embeddedbrace-rods 2,- the lateral openings 9, and the central embedded rod 3,of the board-securers 6, having the eyes 13 surrounding the central rod3,and the straight portion 14 both embedded within the post, theintegral fork ends 15 projecting from said post and integral with theupturned ends 16, the ends 16 having the knobs 19, whereby the staples18 which surround the upturned ends 16 are prevented from slippingupwardly, with the staples 18 and the boards 17, all as set forth.

4. 'In combination in a fence-post of the class described, the post 1,having the lateral openings 9, and the longitudinal embedded brace-rods2, the embedded central rod 3, having its upper end threaded andprojecting abovethe post, and its lower end provided with the elbow 5;the clamping-plates 11, having the depending flanges 12; ltheboard-securers 6, provided with the eyes 13 to receive the central rod3, and having the straight portions 14, said eyes and straight portionsembedded within the post and havin g the projeoting angular forks 15provided with the upturned ends 16, the ends 16 having the knobs 19, thestaples 18 surrounding the upturned ends 16 below the knobs 19, theboards 17, the top rails S, and the wires l0, all as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

QUINTIES C. GRANT.

Witnesses:

S. M. BAKKER, L. C. KNIGHT.-

IOO

